Corrosion of austenitic and ferritic steels, Kovar, and molybdenum in liquid Sb-Bi alloys with different compositions

Sb-Bi alloys may be applied as positive electrode in liquid metal batteries. In this work, the material compatibility
of two steels (SS 316L and T91), Kovar 4J29, and molybdenum with SbBi9, Sb2Bi8, and Sb3Bi7 is investigated in
static corrosion tests for 740 h at around 450 ◦C. Kovar shows severe dissolution attack (800 μm depth for SbBi9),
which is mitigated at higher Sb contents due to the formation of Fe-Sb compounds. Both steels exhibit moderate
corrosion depths (10–20 μm) for all Sb-Bi alloys thanks to the additional formation of stable Fe-Cr-Sb compounds.
Good corrosion resistance is obtained for molybdenum.